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Mr. Troy D. Mix is a Policy Scientist with the University of
Delaware Institute for Public Administration and a Ph.D. candidate in
the Department of Urban and Regional Planning at the University
of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He conducts
research and teaches on the topics of regional economic
development, planning, and governance. Mr. Mix also has
several years experience as a practicing professional planner.

Mix's research focuses on the determinants of long-run,
regional economic competitiveness. His contemporary
efforts examine two major topics—1) how competitiveness is
affected by the structure and process of regional economic
development policymaking, and 2) how regional economic structure
impacts competitiveness. He draws from and seeks to
contribute to scholarship in the fields of planning, regional development,
and strategic management. Mix's
dissertation research examines the organizational designs of
entrepreneurial universities and the impact these institutions
have on regional development policy.

Mr. Mix has instructed and assisted with undergraduate and
graduate-level courses on the topics of Geographic Information
Systems (GIS) and urban and regional analysis. He worked
for five years as a professional planner with a public service
unit at the University of Delaware and maintains membership in
the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP). His primary areas of
professional expertise include regional planning and economic development, policy analysis, and geographic information systems.
Mix's professional experiences include preparing comprehensive plans and economic development strategies; conducting spatial analyses of regional demographic and development conditions; and facilitating committee work and
drafting a statewide Comprehensive Economic Development
Strategy.

Follow the links at left to learn more about Mr. Mix's
academic and professional qualifications, or download his
Curriculum Vitae.

Education

→ Ph.D. in Regional Planning, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign | urban.illinois.edu

Completed coursework with a specialization in regional
development and governance. Click read more to view an
overview of courses in the area of specialization, theory,
and methods.

Research agenda and projects

Mr. Mix's research focuses on the determinants of long-run, regional economic competitiveness. Within this overall framework, contemporary efforts examine two major topics:

1) how competitiveness is affected by the structure and process of regional economic development policymaking, and
2) how regional economic structure impacts competitiveness.

→ Dissertation overview

For his dissertation, Mix is using cross-sectional data on the organization of university-based economic development activities and case studies of four university research parks to test and refine hypotheses on the relationships between a university’s organizational design and its ability to influence subnational public policy in ways that tangibly benefit research park development. This work tests two main contentions—1) that the diversity and organization of a university’s economic development activities impact its relationships with regional policymakers and 2) that a university’s ability to influence regional development policy depends, in part, on its persistent centrality in policy networks.

Teaching philosophy and experience

Mr. Mix bases his approach to teaching on the idea that students learn best when they are called upon to synthesize course concepts, apply them to the solution of real-world problems, and communicate their findings. One way he implements this philosophy is by engaging students in the consideration of planning-relevant case studies.

GIS analysis for planners, Developer of online course, Department of Urban and Regional Planning, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Fall 2012.

GIS for planners, Instructor of record, Department of Urban and Regional Planning, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Fall 2011 and Spring 2012.

Urban and regional analysis, Teaching assistant, Department of Urban and Regional Planning, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Spring semester 2010 and 2011.

GIS applications in the public and nonprofit sector, Co-instructor, School of Urban Affairs and Public Policy, University of Delaware, Spring semester 2005-2008.

→ Potential course contributions

Local economic development planning and methods (Undergraduate or graduate)

Urban and regional analysis (Undergraduate or graduate)

Planning theory and history (Graduate)

Geographic Information Systems for Planning and Public Policy (Undergraduate or graduate)

Regional development theory and applications (Graduate)

Institutions and the politics of regional development (Graduate)

→ Teaching honors

List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent by their Students, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Spring 2010 and Spring 2011

Professional experience and skills

→ Overview of professional experience

Mr. Mix is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) and worked for five years as a planner with the Institute for Public Administration at the University of Delaware. In this position, he worked primarily with state and local government agencies on local and regional planning and economic development projects. Click read more to continue with this overview.

Professional overview

Mr. Mix is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) and worked for five years as a planner with the Institute for Public Administration at the University of Delaware. In this position, he worked primarily with state and local government agencies on local and regional planning and economic development projects. Mix’s economic development work focused on developing strategic plans and the analyzing local and regional economic conditions. Projects include completing a comprehensive market analysis for a local chamber of commerce, developing a geographic information systems (GIS) tool to profile economic conditions in user-specified geographies, and coordinating regional committee efforts that resulted in Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) for the State of Delaware.

Mr. Mix’s planning work focused on regional efforts to coordinate growth and development and drafting and implementing comprehensive plans for Delaware’s municipalities. His regional planning work included coordinating with Delaware's Office of Management and Budget to complete a report on the progress of the state’s smart growth initiative and to account for the fiscal impacts of land use decisions on the state’s budget. Mix worked with several Delaware towns to develop comprehensive plans and revise zoning and subdivision codes.

Mix, Troy, Marcia Scott, Julia O’Hanlon, Maria Aristigueta, William McGowan and Lisa McIlvaine. 2006. Delaware CEDS: A Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy for the State of Delaware. Newark, DE: Institute for Public Administration, University of Delaware.